That list starts with Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, the current frontrunner for MVP honors this season, and the reigning two-time MVP and Finals MVP LeBron James. Only they won’t matchup in the Final Four four of this tournament. Durant faces off against Kobe Bryant in one semifinal while LeBron squares off with Derrick Rose. They both already own MVP hardware.

Claiming this title, however, won’t be easy for any of them, not in a 1-On-1 tournament where we are matching up the skills of each player in his prime against that of another player of equal or greater ability.

Durant has a distinct height advantage over Kobe and might be the only player of this generation whose competitive fire rivals that of the Los Angeles Lakers’ great. As great as Kobe has been throughout his career, I could easily see Durant as the superior player in a 1-On-1 setting …

Rose, for all of his fury when healthy, is simply no match for a player with LeBron’s unique combination of size, skill and otherworldly athleticism (check the video up top … we’re talking about practice?). Rose would make this interesting for a while, but LeBron is just too good and too powerful with a “mouse in the house.” …

You need to get in on the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1LeBron or #1on1Rose and #1on1Durant or #1on1Kobe). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of tonight’s the Fan Night game between Durant’s Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers (10 p.m. ET, NBA TV) by NBA TV’s Matt Winer, Greg Anthony and Chris Webber.

How about an epic clash of the guard titans between Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook, backcourt stars of the past, present and future in this week’s installment of NBA TV’s Fan Night 1-on-1 Tournament.

Of course, this is the only place we’re going to dissect the battle between two of the most dynamic players in the league, because both Bryant and Westbrook are out with injuries right now for their respective teams. (The Lakers could use Bryant and a clone or two, or three, to get back into the Western Conference playoff mix while the Oklahoma City Thunder are rocking along just fine without Westbrook, thanks to Kevin Durant.)

Kobe in his prime was a diabolical sort, an absolute offensive assassin with the ability to shred you by air or land and the skill set to beat you inside or out. He’d take advantage of Westbrook, a physical marvel for his size but a “mouse in Kobe’s house” down low.

As much as I love Westbrook’s fearlessness, I cannot pick against the Black Mamba in this one …

Dive in on the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Kobe or #1on1Westbrook). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the surprising Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls (9 p.m. ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Greg Anthony and Chris Webber.

January 28, 2014 · 5:41PM

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VIDEO:Kyrie Irving is an Eastern Conference All-Star starter this seasonHANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — They were supposed to be the future at the point guard position, rivals for years to come. But things don’t always work out the way they are supposed to. And for Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose and Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving, we’ve never had the division rivals healthy enough simultaneously to really compare and contrast their games in real-time.

Thankfully for all of us, we get to make our theoretical comparisons between the two with NBA TV’s Fan Night 1-on-1 Tournament, and we’re down to the final stages with this matchup.

Take both of these guys at their best and it’s a magical pairing, two young and explosive players with games different enough that the beauty of their matchup would be found in the contrast. Rose attacks the rim and finishes as well as any player at the position but might not be as crafty with the ball as Irving, whose handle and deep shooting range set him apart from the pack.

It’s as even as any matchup we’ve seen during the Fan Night 1-On-1 Tournament:

Join the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Rose or #1on1Kyrie). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Greg Anthony, my main man Rick Fox and Chris Webber (via FaceTime).

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Fireworks!

We’d get all that and more from Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant and New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, the combatants in this latest installment of the NBA TV Fan Night 1-on-1 Tournament.

There’s no way you play this game, hypothetical or otherwise, in the make-it, take-it format. Because the first person to get the ball might never give it up. That’s how good both of these guys are. That’s how prolific they both are with the ball in their hands.

The physical and skill matchup between these two is arguably the best of any we’ve seen thus far. The only other guy capable of going into that otherworldly assassin/scorer zone that Durant has been in so often here lately is ‘Melo, whose Knicks could use some of those performance from their leader right now.

But this isn’t necessarily about the Thunder or the Knicks. This is about the respective faces of those franchises and what kind of havoc they cold reach on each other in NBA TV’s Fan Night 1-On-1 Tournament:

Join the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Durant or #1on1Melo). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony.

But would any of that matter if the Heat star and reigning two-time MVP had to tussle with the Warriors star, arguably the most creative scorer in the game today, in a game of one on one?

Thanks to our friends at NBA TV we get a chance to debate that very topic today with the latest installment of their hypothetical one-on-one tournament that the players weigh in on weekly during the splendid Fan Night 1-On-1 Tournament.

“I looked at the stat sheet at one point and he was seven of 13 from the 3-point line and I was seven of 12 from the field,” James said. “I was like, ‘He’s got more 3-point attempts than I got field goal attempts.'”

Curry would have to employ that sort of strategy against LeBron in a one on one game, because he would certainly be at a physical disadvantage against the game’s most physically imposing specimen.

Of course, this is all just in theory. No one knows for sure how this matchup would play out. And that’s where the fun comes in. You get to dive in as well by voting on who you think would win in this battle of superstars:

Join the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Curry or #1on1LeBron). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers (7 ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony.

January 7, 2014 · 5:42PM

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VIDEO:Derrick Rose was flying high in the preseasonHANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Injuries have robbed us of seeing Derrick Rose for so long now that it’s easy to forget just how dynamic and explosive the injured Chicago Bulls superstar and former MVP can be on a basketball court. And this season is no different, with Rose sidelined indefinitely for the second straight season with a severe knee injury.

Tony Parker, on the other hand, has exploited every opportunity during a success-filled career that should land the San Antonio Spurs’ point guard in the Hall of Fame some day. The MVP candidate is doing his usual this season, as the head of the snake of the defending Western Conference champions.

Can you imagine what it would be like to see the two of them, healthy and in their primes, going one on one?

Our friends at NBA TV have taken it a step further than just the dream phase by staging a hypothetical one-on-one tournament that the players weigh in on weekly during the splendid Fan Night 1-On-1 Tournament. This week’s combatants are none other than Rose and Parker, two of the standard bearers at the point guard position for their respective generations.

You get to dive in on this fun as well by voting on who you think would win in this battle of the point guard superstars:

You get to join the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Rose or #1on1Parker). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the New Orleans Hornets and Miami Heat (7:30 ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony.

We know because we do it to around here at the headquarters. We’re obsessed with these things, these dream matchups between the greatest players in the game today. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry are all guys we’d love to see square off under the bright lights in a one-on-one tournament for the ages.

Our friends at NBA TV have taken it a step further than just the dream phase by staging a hypothetical one-on-one tournament that the players weigh in on weekly during the splendid Fan Night 1-On-1 Tournament. This week’s combatants are none other than Kobe and Wade, arguably the two greatest shooting guards of this era and two of the greatest of all-time.

And you get to weigh in now by voting on who you think would win in this battle of the shooting guard superstars:

You get to join the conversation on who would win via social media (Tweet @NBATV #1on1Wade or #1on1Kobe). The results will be announced during NBA TV’s postgame coverage of the Fan Night game between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder (9 ET, NBA TV) by TNT’s and NBA TV’s Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony.

It’s a continuation of the battle these two teams waged last season for the supremacy in the Western Conference and there hasn’t been much separation between the two, save of course, for the Thunder’s triumph in the Western Conference finals last season. The script this season is following the same path as a year ago, with the Spurs holding the edge in the regular season standings but the Thunder — with their younger and more dynamic cast — holding the edge in a potential playoff series.

The Spurs have workhorses in All-Stars Tony Parker and Tim Duncan with a wild card of Manu Ginobili (when healthy) and a seasoned and steady supporting cast led by Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and others. And they have arguably the NBA’s best coach in Gregg Popovich.

The Thunder counter with a pair of All-Stars and superstars of their own in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with a wild card of Serge Ibaka and a steady supporting cast led by Kevin Martin and Nick Collison and others. They too have an excellent coach Scott Brooks, whose experiences in recent seasons have helped shape his view of what it takes to push his team in ways that have helped the Thunder evolve from a lottery outfit to title contenders.

Again, there’s isn’t so much as a sliver of space difference between these two heavyweights on paper.

That said, both of these clubs understand the tenuous nature of having a perceived advantage and what that means in the postseason. The Spurs had home court advantage in the Western Conference finals (and a 2-0 series lead) and it couldn’t save them from the clutches of a Thunder team that was simply better at that time.

The Thunder took that same home court advantage into The Finals against the Miami Heat and couldn’t hold off LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Co.

The Spurs and Thunder should have serious challenges on their hands long before they get to the Heat, or whoever comes out of the Eastern Conference come playoff time. The Los Angeles Clippers (when healthy), Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and perhaps even the struggling Memphis Grizzlies will all have to be dealt with in the playoffs.

But the cream of the Western Conference crop seems to be separating themselves from the pack as we inch closer to the All-Star break. Yet there is very little empirical separation between the Spurs and Thunder.

There is plenty of regular season basketball to be played. So we’re not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves here. That said, if they face off again in the conference finals this season, it’s hard to see the Spurs overcoming the same things that cost them against the Thunder last season. Those young legs will be tough to overcome in a seven-game series.

April 6, 2012 · 1:34AM

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Some folks near and dear to our own hearts get the treatment this week in Shaq’s latest batch of foolish plays. NBA TV’s Dennis Scott and Greg Anthony are in the mix along with Steve Blake, A.J. Price and Iman Shumpert for this week’s Shaqtin’ A Fool play. Vote now!

April 4, 2012 · 8:16AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We should apologize in advance for overloading your basketball senses with one of the most jam-packed Hang Time Podcasts of the season.

We tackle everything from Russell Westbrook‘s surge to the Thunder’s chances to win it all to the chances of Anthony Davis being an immediate factor in the NBA to what’s in store for Vinny Del Negro and the Los Angeles Clippers to why in the world one of our favorite analysts was rocking that “Elevator Ernie” Halloween costume on Fan Night last night on NBA TV.